Chicken Run- A Look Back
by ChickenRun312
Summary: A book with flashbacks from the chickens lives and such
1. Circus

Ava laughed her little beak off as Rocky tickled the chick in her nest. It was bed time and she refused to fall asleep, claiming she wasn't tired

"Will you go to sleep now?" Rocky moves his wings away

"Can you tell me a story first?" Ava catches her breath

"Only if you'll go to sleep afterwards." Rocky stands up and walked away. He returned with a poster, Ava marveling at the bold print, bright colors and her fathers picture

"Daddy, where did you get that?! Are you famous?! Can I have one too?!" Ava chirps excitedly

"Shh. Not so loud. I got this from when I was at the circus. I kept it as a reminder of this...accomplishment in life. Though things didn't turn out to be what they were. I don't ever want you or your siblings to go to a circus." Rocky skims over the aged paper

"Why daddy?" Ava tilts her head

"Because I don't want you to have false hope like I did." Rocky glances at his daughter

"Oh..." Ava looks down at her little wings. "Did- did they hurt you?"

"Well, they shot me out of a cannon and believe me, that wasn't fun. The circus doesn't care how dangerous or far fetched the acts go as long as business is good. Sometimes the animals wouldn't be treated nicely either..."

"Don't let them hurt me, daddy." Ava trembled

Rocky smiles to himself and puts the poster down, gently lifting up his daughters head. "I will always keep you safe for as long as I live."

"Pwomise?" Ava's beak quivers

"I promise, sweetheart. You're my precious little princess. I'd be lost without you." Rocky nuzzles the chick

Ava giggles softly and hugs her father's beak before moving away

"Was the circus fun even though they were mean to you?" The curious chick looks up at the Rhode Island Red

"It was decent I suppose. There's cotton candy, bags of peanuts, a variety of acts and animals, music and so much more. But I don't want to ever go back to one though." Rocky shrugs his shoulders

"I wanna go just to experience it. I think it sounds fun, daddy." Ava giggles

"Alright. Go to sleep. It's past your bedtime." Rocky pecks her on the cheek and stands up. He rolls up the poster and returned it to where he got it from

"Daddy? Can I sleep with you and mommy?" Ava yawns while stretching her wings

Rocky looks over at the ginger chick as she softened her expression, sniffling. It was hard for him to say no to that cute little munchkin. The American rooster walked over to Ava's nest and wiped away her tears. "You can sleep with us. Just don't hog the nest, ok?"

Ava nods and hopped out of her nest, following Rocky over to his bed. She climbed into the comfy roomy bunk, snuggling against a sleeping Ginger as Rocky laid beside her. He scooted a little closer to his girls before closing his eyes. Ava nuzzles her parents before falling asleep, content


	2. Restless

Clementine tossed and turned in her nest, having an awfully bad dream. She woke up and looked around frantically in the darkness of the hut. She wipes her sweaty face after calming down some. It was just a dream. The duckling certainly wasn't having a very good first night with her new family

She climbed out of her nest and made her way to Ginger and Rocky's bunk, the couple sound asleep

Clementine made her way onto their bed and tried nuzzling her way in between them which was proven difficult since Rocky had his wings wrapped around Ginger. The duckling tried shaking them, nuzzling them, even jumping on them

She felt like there was nothing more she could do except possibly quack but that would wake up her step siblings. Clementine sulks as tears streamed down her little face. She went over to the edge of the bunk when she heard something she's been waiting for

"Darling? Is everything alright?" Ginger asked sleepily, blinking her tired eyes as she looked at the duckling

"I had a bad dream, mommy." Clementine said

"You can sleep with us if you'd like." Ginger offers, Rocky opening his eyes a bit and taking a deep breath

Clementine scurried over to the adults, Ginger placing her in between herself and her husband. "Comfortable?"

"Yes mommy." Clementine nuzzles the British hen

"Let us know if you need anything." Ginger kisses her on the forehead

Rocky drapes a wing over his girls before falling back asleep. Clementine fell asleep after a few minutes but her bad dream returned. She tossed and turned, pressed her webbed feet against the adults and even quacked subtly a few times. Ginger and Rocky woke up, glancing at the duckling. What was the poor thing dreaming about that was making her act this way?

"Clementine? Wake up." Ginger gently shook her

"Hm?" Clementine woke up and looked at her parents

"You were moving around like you had ants in your feathers." Rocky said

"I'm sorry. I had another bad dream." Clementine sniffled

"What was the dream about?" Ginger wipes away her tears

"That my other mommy and daddy wanted me to go back with them and I didn't want to and they took me from you." Clementine takes quick shaky breaths from crying

"Shh, it's ok. We won't ever let that happen. You're a part of our family now and you always will be." Rocky strokes her feathers in comfort

"Really?" Clementine asked

"Yes sweetie. We'll protect you." Ginger nods

Clementine felt better at this and gets comfortable in the nest. Ginger and Rocky give their adopted daughter a kiss before falling asleep


	3. Sick

Ava woke up from sleeping throughout most of the day. She had a high fever for the past five weeks and her parents couldn't figure out why. Lillian, Clementine, Grayson and Ricky had to keep their distance from her so they wouldn't catch the same illness. The adults weren't affected by it so it was safe for them to go near her

"How are you feeling?" Ginger walked over to the nest

"Sleepy." Ava coughs

"Sleepy? You've been sleeping all day." Ginger sat down at the foot of the nest, rubbing her chick's legs

Ava coughs again and turned over onto her side. "Will I ever get better?"

"Of course you will. Don't doubt it even for a minute." Ginger leans over and kissed her daughter on the cheek before feeling her forehead. She stood up and left the hut to go to the storage hut as well as go to Mac's hut for anything that could possibly help Ava, the Scottish hen trying to come up with an antidote for the sick chick

Ava was about to fall asleep when she heard the door open, Ginger returning from her errands. Rocky had also just come home with their other kids, the chicks and duckling running over to the table and climbing up onto their chairs. They were famished from playing

Ava listened closely as her parents talked, the couple standing near their daughter

"How's she feeling?" Rocky asked in a low tone

"The same. She's also still feeling tired." Ginger replies

Rocky gives a worrisome sigh before going over to his little princess, forcing a smile. "Hey sweetheart. Do you want to try to eat today?"

"Aunt Mac gave me something that you might be able to keep down." Ginger joined him

Ava shakes her head, closing her brown eyes and falling back to sleep

Rocky gently caresses his daughters face as he forced back tears, a lump in his throat. They were running out of options for the chick and they might have to say their goodbyes to her. Ginger places a wing on her mates shoulder

"Are you ok, darling?" She asked

"I love this chick. I don't know what I'd do without her." Rocky wipes away a few tears that fell

"I know. But she's a fighter. She'll get through this, I promise." Ginger kisses him on the cheek

The chicks and duckling soon got ready for bed and the couple did too. Ginger woke up in the middle of the night to get a drink of water when she noticed that Rocky wasn't in their nest. She frantically looked around but calmed her nerves after seeing him with Ava. Rocky was sitting on the edge of the bunk, humming softly to his little girl and stroking her feathers. He couldn't sleep since Ava was the only thing on his mind

Ava opened her tired eyes ever so slightly. "Daddy?"

"Shh. I'm here. Go back to sleep." The Rhode Island Red spoke softly

"Daddy, I'm cold." Ava coughed

Rocky gently held his daughter as if she was fragile and sat in her bunk, rocking her in his wings and humming after getting comfortable in the nest. It was a bit too small for him due to his height but he didn't care. He just wanted to be with his precious little princess

Ava nuzzles into her father's warm feathers and closed her eyes

Rocky lowers his head, kissing the chick on her forehead. A tear streamed down his cheek as he watched his daughter sleep. He didn't want to say goodbye to her. She was still so young and had so much left to see. Why couldn't he just take his daughters place?

Ginger slowly approaches her mate and carefully sat down on the bunk, staring at her daughter in his protective hold. She couldn't help but fear the worse for her little chick, stifling quiet sobs. All she wanted was for her baby to get better and soon...

Rocky glances at the hen he fell in love with. He knew she was just as upset as he was even if she wouldn't admit it. Ginger pulled a blanket over the two before pecking Rocky on the cheek. "Try to get some sleep." She gets up from where she had been sitting and went to go get a drink of water

They hoped that Ava would make it through the night, just like the previous nights before

There will be a book on this!


	4. Different

Grayson was playing with his siblings in the water, having a good old time splashing each other and just being chicks. He stopped when he heard the other chicks saying rude stuff about him, how he looked different from the others

"Leave him alone, meanies!" Ava ruffles her feathers

The chicks laughed and run off, away from the water

"Are you ok?" Lillian asked her brother

"I think so." Grayson shrugs

"Come on, lets play Marco Polo!" Ricky smiles, trying to lighten the mood

Grayson sat out while he watched the others play their game. He glances down at his reflection on the waters clear surface. Why did he have to look so different from everyone else? Why was he such a burden? He tilts his head after seeing a reflection beside his, squinting for a better look

"Something on your mind?"

Ginger. His mother

Grayson looked up at the British hen with a sorrowful expression. "Why am I different, momma?"

"Different?" Ginger asked

"Why am I not like everyone else, my feathers are completely...unnatural. It's not fair." The young rooster turns his head away. "I was born ugly. I'm a burden."

Ginger bent over and gently turned her son's head to look at her. "Sweetie, don't ever think that. You were born handsome and everyone else is jealous. And I can assure you that you're most certainly not a burden." She smiles softly

"But shouldn't I look like them?" Grayson gestures towards his brother and sisters

"Well, you might think that but it doesn't matter what you look like." She tells her son

Grayson smiled up at his mother

Rocky walked over to the two. "Hey. What's going on?"

"Just talking." Ginger straightened up

"Oh, that talk. When a hen and a rooster love each other very much, they-" Rocky gets elbowed by his mate

"Not that kind of talk, fly boy." The green eyed hen sighs

"Oh..." Rocky trails off, looking down at his oldest son. "Listen. If anyone ever makes fun of you, brush it off. Those words mean nothing. Ok?"

"Ok dad." Grayson nods

"Good. Now why don't you play with your brother and sisters? I'm sure they'd like it if you joined them." The American rooster gives him a gentle push, Grayson hugging his parents before jumping into the cold water and swimming over to his siblings

"You're getting better at giving them advice." Ginger leans against her favorite rooster

"Slowly but surely. I just don't want to be like my dad with how he raised me." Rocky puts a wing around her


	5. The One

Ricky looks around the crowded hut and sighs to himself. It had been a long day of rescuing his parents and uncle and not to mention finding their way back to this farm. He turned to go outside when he bumped into a short round brown feathered hen, both chickens staring at each other as they got lost in one another's eyes

"I'm sorry, miss. I didn't see you." Ricky apologized

"It's ok. I should have paid attention to where I was going." The hen said

Then silence fell over them. Ricky wanted to move but something was stopping him from doing so. He just couldn't stop staring at the beautiful hen in front of him

Rosemary wasn't too familiar with seeing roosters like Ricky around England. Especially with that strange attire. "Are you an American?" She points at his green bandanna

Ricky glances down at the fabric. "N- no. My dad is. I uh, I'm part American though I suppose. I'm not sure what the other part of me is."

"I see." She taps her beak, looking him over thoroughly. What kind of American chicken could his father be?

"Are you busy? I thought maybe we could get to know each other a little." Ricky clears his throat

"I'm not busy at all, mister..." She trails off

"Ricky. My name is Ricky Rhodes. Or just Ricky." The young rooster smiles down at her

"Rosemary." She smiles back

"What a gorgeous name." Ricky compliments

Rosemary subtly blushed and looked away for a moment. "So are you new here, Mr. Rhodes? I don't remember seeing you around."

"Yeah, but I don't think me and my family are going to stay here much longer." Ricky said

"Oh. Where are you from?" Rosemary gestures for them to go outside and the young cockerel nods, the two leaving the hut to get some air

"I'm actually from a chicken sanctuary. It was on this island but a nasty storm took it out. I overheard my mom saying about going back and rebuilding everything." Ricky tells her

"A chicken sanctuary? I've never heard of such a place." Rosemary tilts her head

"Trust me, it's paradise." Ricky chuckles. "Maybe you can come back with us to see it for yourself."

"I might take you up on that offer." Rosemary smiles a bit

She stared at the handsome rooster and sighs to herself. What lucky hen got to be with him? Certainly not her

"You know, you're the first chick I met who didn't embarrass herself to get my attention." Ricky glances at Rosemary

"I'm calling rubbish on that." Rosemary said

"It's true. And not to mention, you're the first short hen I've talked to." Ricky teases

"Hey!" Rosemary laughs and gently pushed him

"I'm sorry, did I strike a tender chord?" Ricky laughs as well

"Perhaps." Rosemary giggles

"So, tell me about yourself." Ricky nudged the hen

"What's to tell? I grew up here most of my life..." Rosemary glances down at her lavender scarf and messes with the fabric as a distraction

"I- I'm sorry. I bet it's not much of a life..." Ricky rubs the back of his neck

"It's not. Everyday it's the same routine and it gets tiresome after awhile." Rosemary sighs

"Come back with me." Ricky takes a step forward

"What?" Rosemary looks at him in shock

"Come back to the sanctuary with me and everyone else. You'll love it there." Ricky smiles

"Well, I- i...ok. What have I got to lose?" The brown hen shrugs

"Great. I think you'll fit right in." Ricky winks

Rosemary blushes and looks away for a quick second

"Do you have any family around?" Ricky leans to one side

"No. My parents were sold to another farm." Rosemary glances at him

"I'm sorry." Ricky said

"You mentioned your mother and other family?" Rosemary brings up

"Yeah. My mom, dad, brother and two sisters are here. And my uncle and his lady." Ricky tells her

"Is your brother as cute as you?" Rosemary teases

"I'm the one with the good looks, baby doll." Ricky laughs

They looked each other in their eyes and smiled. There was no denying how they felt for each other. In fact, Ricky never felt this way with any other hen before. It was a completely new feeling for him. Rosemary couldn't deny the fact that this rooster was the one for her though she wasn't entirely sure. Ricky opened his beak to say something when they both heard someone calling for Rosemary

"Rosemary! There you are! We were going to go watch the fireflies by the field if you want to come." Darla calls out, one of Rosemary's friends

"I'll meet you all there!" Rosemary replies. She returned her attention to Ricky. "I'm sorry. Maybe we can do this some other time. I'd like to hangout with you more."

"Ok." Ricky nods in agreement

Rosemary hugs Ricky, smiling to herself when she felt his wings around her. She moved away after a moment and walked away, Ricky watching her leave. It was in this moment that Ricky figured out he didn't need to be someone who he wasn't and to not let anyone or anything change that. Was Rosemary bringing out the best in him? He laughed to himself about the idea of possibly having a future with Rosemary. How ridiculous. She didn't even feel the same way...did she? Hm...


	6. RAF Days and Exagerations

The chicks and duckling on the sanctuary were sitting on the floor in Fowler's hut as he told them stories about his RAF days, boring them to death with his lectures and what not. It's not like they could up and leave, especially four adventurous chicks and their adopted duck sister since their parents weren't at the sanctuary at all, having a special date since it was their anniversary

Ava had fallen asleep and the old rooster took notice

"Ava, wake up." Fowler pokes the chick with his cane

Ava opened her eyes and lets out a yawn. It was getting close to her bedtime so of course she was tired

"Now where was I? Oh yes, yes! I was once a no account wastrel, and you might be too if you don't pay attention here." Fowler carries on with his story

Grayson elbows his brother. "That's you." He whispered

Ricky rolls his eyes at him

"I know that it may be difficult for you youngsters to believe, but I was wild and irresponsible once. I wanted to sleep all day and strut all night...just like your father Rocky does." Fowler skims over Ginger and Rocky's kids for a split second before looking at the other chicks

"Daddy goes out when we sleep?" Clementine whispers

"I wouldn't doubt it. He naps too much if you ask me. Haven't you noticed he hardly ever seems tired when we go to bed?" Lillian answers, keeping her voice low as Fowler rambled on

"Mommy wouldn't allow it though." Ava adds

"What if it's an adult thing though? Mom never seems tired either." Grayson glances at his siblings

"Grandpa, you're wrong." Ricky speaks up

"How dare you interrupt, you little whippersnapper!" Fowler looks at Rocky's mini me

"But, dad doesn't go out at night. He's at home with us and ma." Ricky tells him

"It was just an example, lad." Fowler assures the young rooster. "Company- dismissed!"

And with that, the chicks flowed out of the hut however Fowler pulled aside Ginger and Rocky's kids so he could have a word with them. "I did not mean to offend any of you youngsters by any means."

"It's ok, grandpa." Grayson forgives the old chap

"It's just that...I'm still wary of your father after his actions." Fowler glances at his cane

"Actions?" Lillian tilts her head

"He lied to us all and not to mention that he left us, what what. I felt sorry for your mother and the other hens. Even if your father did come back and had a few moments of bravery, I don't fully trust that yank." Fowler explains to the curious chicks and duckling

"Do you think he's lied to us?" Clementine wonders out loud

"It's wouldn't doubt it but it's probably to protect you, my dear." Fowler pats her on the head

"I knew it." Grayson whispers

"In all my life, I've never met a fine group of youngsters like yourselves. Continue to lift each other up and work as a team. It would be a shame if you all parted ways when you get older." Fowler smiles down at them. "Back in my RAF days, I knew a fine group of chickens who always worked as a team to get the job done."

"Fowler, did they get into trouble?" Ginger walked into the hut with Rocky

"Momma!" Ricky runs over to the British hen and hugs her legs, rubbing his head against her. He was definitely a momma's boy but he didn't care

"No, they were all well behaved. They're always welcome to come to my lectures, young Ginger." Fowler said

Ginger strokes her son's comb as the others came over to join him

"Let's get you all home. I bet you're tired." Rocky picked up Clementine

During their walk home, Ava brought up something that was bugging her. "Mommy, daddy, do you lie to us?"

Ginger and Rocky exchange looks, unsure of what to tell their daughter

"Er...sometimes." Rocky clears his throat

"But its only to keep you all out of trouble." Ginger adds

"Oh..."Clementine said

"Grandpa said you were irresponsible, daddy." Lillian looks up at her father as she walked alongside him

"And wild!" Ava said

"He's full of hot air." Rocky scoffs, Ginger elbowing him

"So it's not true?" Grayson asked

"Not all of it..." The American rooster trails off, nervously tugging at his bandanna. "I may have been like that in my younger days, maybe even now in my adult days too, but it's nothing to worry about."

"Ma, can I stay up late tonight? Please? I've been extra good this week!" Ricky chirps as he frolicked around his mother

"We'll see, darling." Ginger smiles down at her son

"But-" the young rooster began

"You heard your mother." Rocky looks down at the eager chick


End file.
